The Hypodermic Needle Theory Effects on the Global Pandemic

Lisa
3 min readJan 10, 2022

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I was always fascinated with World War II. I wish I could tell you that it was because my grandfather fought in the war and had the most incredible stories. Well, yes, that is part of the reason. But truth is, from a young age, I was fascinated by Nazi Germany. The idea that one man could slowly build the support of others and then through decrees and laws, abolish certain civil rights and destroy German democracy was absolutely mind blowing to me. I was interested in finding out how such a crazy thing could happen. That’s when I learned all about the mass media, propaganda and eventually, the hypodermic needle theory.

Examples of German Propaganda dating back to 1941.

It is likely not a surprise when I tell you I’m a Mass Communication graduate student. Mass media has always piqued my interest. I have always thought the media could make a great change in this world if there weren’t so many different views on what great change would mean. The hypodermic needle theory is a great example of just how powerful the media is. The theory explains how media controls what the audience views and listens to and the effects, which can be immediate or later in future. Ultimately, whatever goes in your ear from a media source could potentially stick and sway opinion.

In 2020, almost every station was reporting CORONAVIRUS death toll, potentially instilling fear in all who saw the headline. Image from MGN.

I’d like to think that as a self-proclaimed mass media know it all, it’s impossible that this would happen to me. Think again. Rewind back to the global pandemic and quarantine of 2020. I apologize if I made you cringe with those words, but yes, I’m going there. Every media source was focused on the global pandemic, the number of individuals in each country contracting the virus, the death toll and the shelter in place orders. What was interesting, was every outlet had a different take on the pandemic, making it difficult to identify the truth.

Consequently, a lot of fake information has appeared on various social media platforms, which has complicated the fight against the pandemic by misinforming the unsuspecting public. In many cases, the hypodermic needle theory was proven powerful when people were not only believing but disseminating misinformation as they naïvely believed what they initially read to be facts.

Often times, mask effectiveness came into questions. Graphics like the one above, were regularly shared on social media networks. This was a source of turmoil, especially surrounding proper mask wearing.

Like so many, I struggled with trusting science versus public opinion when it came to COVID-19 prevention measures. I found that simply googling effectiveness of masks, or vaccine effectiveness, could turn up thousands of results that could sway me either way. Ultimately, I am a firm believer in science, but the media did a superb job of making me question myself and unfortunately, has helped cause a great divide among the nation.

The mass media is only growing, and social media outlets make it easier than ever to disseminate information and opinions masked as facts. It is our job to remain aware that not everything we see, hear, and read are facts and to always be reminded that whatever we consume could be swaying us unknowingly. Until then, the ‘magic bullet’ aka hypodermic needle theory will always be prevalent.

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Lisa
Lisa

Written by Lisa

Grad Student. Project Manager. Mom of 2. Lover of all things social media.

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